Buehrle shoulders load for 15th win

Mark Buehrle, the White Sox's workhorse , ran his string to 27 straight starts of pitching six innings or more Saturday night and earned his 15th victory of the season.

The quick-working left-hander raised his American League-leading total of innings pitched to 2361/3 with a complete-game, four-hit, 5-1 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Fans in the crowd of 20,625 stood and cheered his final pitches.

"We're not going to the playoffs, so I've been kind of down," Buehrle said. "But the way the crowd got up in the ninth inning, it was almost like going to the playoffs."

Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said Buehrle, 25, is the type of pitcher who could put together a string of high-victory seasons. Buehrle has won 15 games or more in three of his four full major-league seasons.

The Sox had lost a chance to take the lead in the second inning when second baseman Donnie Murphy's accurate relay to catcher Alberto Castillo cut down Ross Gload, who was trying to score from first on Juan Uribe's double into the left-field corner.

Despite his 12.23 ERA, Bautista blanked the Sox until they took a 2-1 lead on just one hit in the sixth.

After Aaron Rowand was hit by a pitch and Carlos Lee walked, Paul Kornerko singled to score Rowand and tie the game 1-1. It was Konerko's 112th RBI of the season. Lee scored on Gload's infield out.

In their last two at-bats, the Sox scored three runs off Bautista's relievers. In the seventh, Jose Valentin equaled his career high with his 28th homer. Lee connected for his 29th home run. Valentin also hit 28 homers in 2001 and 2003.

Extra innings

Bench coach Harold Baines will return to the team next year with expanded duties, Guillen said.

"He'll be outfield coach too," said Ozzie. "He'll position outfielders on defense. Harold said he wants to be more involved."

Guillen said he thinks Baines and Seattle's Edgar Martinez, designated hitters for much of their careers, both deserve admission to the Hall of Fame.

Sox catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. is mentioned frequently as a future major-league manager. But for now, Alomar wants to remain a catcher. "I still want to play," he said. "I hope to stay here, but if not, then somewhere else."

For the last three years, Alomar has served as a platoon or backup catcher. His playing time was sharply reduced this season when he was injured and the Sox obtained Ben Davis and Jamie Burke.

"I admire role players," Alomar said. "I'd never done it before. Role players may play only once a week or every 10 days. Their job is to give regular players a day off. It's tough. You have to be ready to play any day. When you do play, you may face a 95-m.p.h fastball that looks like 100 m.p.h."